The patio transformation - before and after

Welcome to our back yard.

I want to take you back for a brief moment to the time when we bought our house and the patio looked like this. Then I will propel you forward at warp speed after that, so be ready. There might be some jolts along the way.

I took this picture when we were out looking at our house, just before buying it. This was one of the selling features for us. This big-for-California back yard with a huge 10 foot ceiling covered patio. Dreamy.

Looking in, on the right behind that dry erase board, is the living room. On the left, the dining room.

We bought this house and thought about all the things we wanted to do to make this our dream house. Adding more light to the living room was very high on that list and this was the first thing we tackled, a year after moving in, when we installed new windows and a new patio door.

Ideally, I would love to turn this whole back yard into a grass free zone. I am not a fan of how much watering goes on here. Maybe some day. #dollars.

Here is what all that work, most of which we hired out, had amounted to, last spring.

It was so great to get those columns fixed. Now they stay dry every morning. So much better.

Next, we installed some solar lights around the perimeter. By installed, I mean, we stuck some 5 dollar solar lights from Target into the ground. I love the glow they give off, especially in the early evening.

I took a stab at making a couple forever plant arrangements for the patio. Most of them are still holding up more than a year later, but the ones who got beaten by the sun directly did get a little sun bleached.

I love real plants, but I also know myself... I forget to water and then poof, the plants give up on me. No loyalty.

This is Edmund, the photographer on the left, with B just peeking out behind him there, on the right Cris, his assistant and behind her, Laura, the editor and professional stylist. Read all about the behind the sceneshere.

Then I showed you the reveal late last summer. I loved it! For a hot minute.

Then this thing happened where I looked at this picture again and thought to myself: "Mkay. That got way colorful there. Is this really me, us?" It turned out a little, shall we say, Pinteresting? Or maybe not. I don't know.

Same with the patio. I set out to do a little toning down, or toning up of the space depending how you look at it.

On Memorial day, this spring, I found some great deals to replace the turquoise chairs that were on their last leg(s). The chevron rug over on the right had almost disintegrated in the harsh sun, so we got a replacement for that, I first contacted World Market where we bought it just last year to tell them that their outdoor rug had not held up at all. They gave us a whopping credit of 3.40 dollars (!?). I don't even know what to say to that...

This is already an improvement. The new fabric is a super sturdy Sunbrella marine grade fabric. I just made envelope covers. And since the fabric came in the right width for my pillows, that amounted to only two rows of stitches per pillow. A very quick project.

I also brought back some of the black and white pillows from last year.

This is where B and I eat our breakfast some mornings when the weather is nice.

And I am trying my hand at real succulents. Check it out. So far so good, but don't hold your breath. It is pretty, though.

This is what our pared down patio looks like now.

Here is the planter we made last year for the dining table. When I took those pictures last week, it was still holding up very nicely. Then a couple days later we had a down pour like you wouldn't believe. That was more than it could handle. It had seen plenty rain before, but not this kind.

It was nice while it lasted. Sniffle. (Ode to planter).

A little traveling sheep skin action on the bench.

And two more real succulents. Still alive. Ohhh.

Some firewood for the fire pit tucked in under the table.

Lounge area photo overload. Probably my most favorite space out here. Although it's like picking a favorite child.

Another sheep skin. It usually lives on our couch. I got it a couple years ago in Denmark. They had it in a bin in the super market?! So weird. I snapped it right up.

I love these kilim pillows so much I actually took them inside because I don't want them to fade too quickly. The sun is brutal here.